Among the teams participating in the upcoming MSI 2022, besides T1 and RNG (representatives of LCK and LPL), G2 Esports has attracted a lot of attention. Not only because of their championship title at LEC Spring 2022 after climbing up from the losers’ bracket, but G2 Esports also always has unique elements and ‘strange’ strategies that pique curiosity. Recall that at MSI 2019, they made the world go wild by bringing Pyke to the Top Lane.
As of now, G2 Esports players have been in South Korea for about 3 days, and they have started practicing by climbing ranks on the Korean server. When watching the duo Jankos and Caps rank up, we can see that they are using a very ‘strange’ strategy: Ivern combined with Rengar. Among them, Ivern will be played by Jankos while Caps will use Rengar in the Mid Lane.
So what are the strengths that lead G2 Esports to intentionally have Jankos and Caps practice this strategy? Firstly, it’s the element of surprise regarding the damage that Rengar can deal in the early levels, allowing this champion to take down opponents and gain a significant advantage in the Mid Lane. Even when facing ranged mages, with Ivern starting with his W ability and creating bushes in the Mid Lane, Rengar can still jump onto opponents and deal damage.
Not only during the laning phase, this duo can create a very strong snowball once Rengar takes the lead in the Mid Lane. With support from Ivern’s bushes, Rengar can jump onto opponents from very unexpected positions, even if they are standing in the middle of the lane and not near any bushes. Additionally, Ivern’s bushes also limit the enemy team’s vision, making it even more effective to control the game and suffocate the opponents.
From G2 Esports’ perspective, choosing to practice this duo seems quite reasonable. Looking at the teams at MSI this year, T1 and RNG are clearly G2 Esports’ two biggest rivals. What they have in common is having outstanding players in lane control and macro movement in the later stages. Simply put, if you play a Mage versus a Mage matchup against Faker or Xiaohu in the Mid Lane, it’s like shooting yourself in the foot.
As a result, G2 is forced to seek out unconventional plays in the Mid Lane to find significant advantages here, making it difficult for T1 or RNG to control the game. Perhaps the strategy that G2 has chosen to do this is Ivern – Rengar, which helps Caps find ways to solo kill opponents in his lane and create a snowball effect. Hopefully, Jankos and Caps will further master this playstyle to use it effectively at the upcoming MSI 2022, who knows, they might create a new meta.